"At this point it's gonna take a Hail Mary." The man saying this to me was describing the zero chance a particular piece of anti-human trafficking legislation had of passing the Tennessee legislature earlier this Spring. He knew this because his job is to keep up with the pulse of what's happening at the state capitol and what legislation will likely gain the funding and votes necessary to pass the House and Senate.
The specific bill to which he referred was something my organization (Second Life of Chattanooga) and our various in-state partners knew that we had to have in order to gain greater traction in our collective fight against human trafficking in Tennessee. The hold-up on this bill was primarily due to funding, although other bills that had nothing to do with life and death matters had been funded.
As the man made his "Hail Mary" statement to me, I experienced 2 things: the first was disappointment, but only for a minute, because resolve overcame disappointment. If a Hail Mary was what we needed, a Hail Mary was what we'd create.
In speaking with other state partners, they felt the same as me. "If we're gonna go down in flames on this, we might as well go down fighting," was our shared attitude. To be honest with you, we were pissed off that such a necessary bill (and those whom the bill was designed to serve and help) wasn't being given the importance it deserved.
We went to work immediately, using every speaking opportunity, every meeting, social media, and email campaigns. We rallied the ordinary citizens, called them to action, encouraged (some might say demanded) them to begin reaching out to their legislators that day. And that's exactly what they did...beginning that day.
We began hearing back from them with stories of them hearing back from their legislators. Within days what once appeared to be dead was showing signs of life. Then the signs of life became more than that. "Oh my God, we might just pull this thing off," replaced the Hail Mary mantra. From dead, to maybe we have a chance, to the bill actually passing in a matter of just a few weeks.
Wednesday of this week I was privileged to stand with several other folks on a stage at the state capitol in Nashville, literally looking over the shoulder of Governor Bill Haslam as he signed a once dead bill into law. Hail Mary indeed.
No one person or organization did this. We did it together. But, we each did what was needed. One individual doing her/his part, linking with other individuals doing the same. No one did anything spectacular, but the outcome certainly was. We dared breathe a Hail Mary. We raised the dead.
Whatever is dead or nearly dead for you, maybe you should rethink that diagnosis. Whether it's an opportunity, a relationship, a dream, a second (or third) chance, maybe someone has spoken too soon in declaring it dead. Maybe the someone is you. Either way, what if the dead could be raised...by you?
Wednesday I witnessed resurrection. It was beyond cool. I want to do it some more. I also look forward to hearing back from some of you with similar stories. Facebook message or email me at jredman@secondlifechattanooga.org.
Raising the dead. I highly recommend it.
